BARLEY AND CaTS. 105 



the greatest abundance and perfection is the north- 

 ern slope of Western New- York. The ranges of 

 towns which mark the geological separation of the 

 arg!4laceous and limestone districts have hitherto 

 yielded the greatest quantities of barley ; and in 

 them the culture is still rapidly extending. On this 

 slope it is found that soils on which winter wheat, 

 without extra care in cultivation, is very liable to 

 freeze out in the spring, will produce heavy crops 

 of barley ; and hence clover and barlejt on many 

 farms have taken the place of clover ancTwheat, af- 

 fording about the same profit in the crop, and at a 

 less expense of labour. This is particularly the 

 case in the country extending from the Oneida to 

 the Canandaigua lakes, including a part of Madison, 

 Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Yates, and Ontario 

 counties. On what is called the great limestone 

 region of Western New- York, wheat will undoubt- 

 edly be preferred to barley as an article of culture ; 

 and it may be remarked as a general rule, that on 

 all soils where good barley can be grown, the suita- 

 ble application of lime will ensure the success of 

 wheat. 



Perhaps there is no crop which demands and re- 

 pays thorough working of the soil better than barley. 

 The surface, when fitted for the reception of the 

 seed, can hardly be made too fine ; and the excel- 

 lence of the crop is greatly depending on this point. 

 A crop tliat occupies the ground so short a time as 

 barley, spring wheat, or oats, can hardly be benefit- 

 ed by manure applied directly to them, unless in a 

 thoroughly decomposed state ; and hence it has been 

 found by experience that these crops succeed bet- 

 ter after hoed or root crops to which the manure has 

 been applied, or on turf-lands that have received a 

 top-dressing of manure, aiid been carefully turned 

 over in the fall of the year. The practice, some- 

 what extensively followed, of sowing winter wheat 

 after barley, has led to the application of the manure 

 II.— I 



